This story is part of our Start. Build. Grow. series, a celebration of Black business.
On the eve of Jazz In The Gardens—the vibrant music festival that places a refreshing spotlight on Black artists and musicians—Miami-Dade County Mayor Rodney Harris reflects on the importance of connection to community. The politician was born and raised in the county and moved his family to Miami Gardens more than 20 years ago.
The city is now the largest predominantly Black community in the entire state of Florida. “I’ve always been a servant leader and I always wanted to be of service to the people of this community. So I think it’s very important that we capitalize on where Miami Gardens could be and how it could get there—but we include our residents in the whole process as well,” Harris tells The Root.
“When we do economic development or when we have events like Jazz In The Gardens that’s taking place in our city, we try our very best to make sure that our residents obtain some financial gains from it, whether they’re working as a vendor or if there are small businesses participating in it, or even if they’re just given jobs at some of these bigger things that we have. Events like these make cities run and it makes us self-sustainable.”
The festival, which was founded by Miami Gardens’ inaugural mayor Shirley Gibson, is now in its 17th year and is taking place at Hard Rock Stadium on March 9 and 10. This year’s headliners include Maxwell, Summer Walker, Jazmine Sullivan, Kirk Franklin and Babyface. There is also a hip hop element as well, with artists like Jeezy, Rick Ross, Trina, Trick Daddy and Uncle Luke making appearances.
Gibson, who passed away at the age of 79 last year, served as mayor from 2003 to 2012 (she stepped down because of office term limits). She knew the liveliness and cultural importance that a music festival like Jazz In The Gardens would bring to the people she served. “[The festival] started out as an event that Shirley believed in...she just had this vision and they did it in a parking lot. Now, it’s blossomed into a major world class music festival that has visitors from all around the world coming to be a part of it.”
In addition to the performances, Jazz In The Gardens includes a Women’s Impact Luncheon with a keynote address from Fantasia, an opening night party featuring the legendary Kid Capri and a spoken word function called “Poetry In The Gardens”. Harris says every last detail of the weekend—which now includes a newly formed partnership with the Black Promoters Collective—requires a certain amount of diligence.
“It takes hard work and commitment from the staff that’s involved here, from our sponsors and the whole council... see this is not just a Miami Gardens event. This is something that the entire region of South Florida benefits from. We have partnerships with Broward County, Miami-Dade County, cities like Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Miami-Dade. We also have to invest back in the city.
“For the past three years that I’ve been a mayor, for every dollar that we spend in economic development, we gained a $17 return. So for the $54 million that we invested in the city, we are going to have a return of over $900 million. Jazz has turned into one of those big events everyone buys into because everyone in this entire region of South Florida benefits.”
Ultimately Harris, who is most excited to see Uncle Luke perform (he lovingly calls the emcee his “hometown hero”), is proud of how Jazz In The Gardens unifies his city. “Places like Miami Gardens have a uniqueness of being a mostly brown and and Black city—and now we have an opportunity to showcase that. We can show the world that we can have events without having any issues or problems. At Jazz, everybody comes around and it really feels like a big family reunion.”